Cal Ripken, Jr. says he had "serious discussions" about becoming the next manager of the Washington Nationals when the position was open in 2013.

Ripken has been asked about his interest in managing several times since flirting with the Washington.

"We had some serious discussions about it and never really got down to the point of choice and those sorts of things," Ripken said. "I think the world of Mike Rizzo. I think he's done a fantastic job. I like how he thinks, I like how he talks. If you're looking at a potential position, who wouldn't want their first managing job with a team built the way it was built? It was interesting discussions. With many things in life, it's about timing, and so you have other considerations. I would say timing was an issue there, but it was fun talking about it."